Katie took my hand and tugged me out the back door. Her skin was soft and smooth against mine. Inviting, just like her hug had been. I held her hand tightly as we walked toward the stables and I released her to pick out her horse. She came trotting back with the all-black stallion and a big smile on her face. I watched as everything came rushing back to her. How to put a saddle on a horse. Cleaning his hooves before we went out. I watched her fluid movements as she mounted the horse, throwing her leg over Midnight’s back as she sat tall with pride.
I thought back on her prom night, when I was her date. There was so much sexual tension and attraction between us, but I didn’t have the nerve to kiss her like I wanted so damn much. That bothered me for years. It was a regret I carried for a long time.
It was really good to see her smiling again.
“You coming?” Katie asked. “Or are you gonna rearrange that saddle one last time?”
“Just makin’ sure
the horse is comfortable, too. This one here’s Sunshine. She’s a spitfire with an attitude. Gotta make sure she’s comfy, otherwise, she’ll buck you off,” I said.
“Yikes. Well, be careful. I’m not equipped to administer CPR.”
The thought of her lips anywhere near mine caused me to stumble as I threw my leg over the back of my horse.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Yep. Let’s go.”
The two of us rode together in silence as the stamping of hooves underneath our bodies filled my ears. I was glad to finally have some alone time with her. It was something I’d been craving for years. But when she announced her engagement, I threw all ideas of that out the window.
Until a couple of nights ago when she called the wedding off.
We rode down a trail that went through a bit of the forest out back of the resort. It was one of the more intermediate trails, and Katie was handling it like a champ.
The smile on her face was so big it almost closed her eyes, and the way she stayed mounted on the horse gave me the perfect view of her ass.
It was hard paying attention with her body rolling up and down like it was.
So I ran up alongside her and slowed both our horses down.
“Something wrong?” Katie asked.
“Just lettin’ our horses breathe. Midnight’s pumpin’ air pretty hard,” I said.
“It’s beautiful out here. Do all your resorts have trails like this?”
“They do. It’s our signature offerin’. Each has somethin’ different, but all of them have horses and trails to ride ‘em on.”
“You guys have done so well. I’m really proud of what y’all have accomplished.”
“I see that accent’s creepin’ back in,” I said with a grin.
“Can’t help it when I’m surrounded by accents like y’all’s.”
“They’re pretty thick. Even people in downtown Dallas look at us weird sometimes.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. I like them,” she said.
“Then that’s all that matters to me.”
“So, what have you been up to for the past few years?” she asked. “I never really got to chat long enough with you guys whenever I’d come into town.”
“You were busy with your momma and things like that. It’s understandable.”
“Any interesting developments? Women in your life? Dating or side jobs of any sort?”
“No to all those questions,” I said with a grin.